We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+.
Hacks S5 (Hayu, May 12)
Get ready to say farewell to Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder’s Ava Daniels, as the smash-hit Emmy award-winning comedy Hacks comes to an end with its fifth season. Labelled as a “proper finale for a series that never stopped being funny, never punched below the belt, and always continued to evolve“, the whip-smart TV show hasn’t overstayed its welcome. Instead, this “fantastically funny farewell“ has cemented Hacks as one of the best comedies to ever air.
Bugonia (Netflix, May 21)
Helmed by “the unsettler in chief“ Yorgos Lanthimos (director of Poor Things and The Killing of a Sacred Deer) this Oscar-nominated English-language remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet! stars the ever-extraordinary Emma Stone. She plays Michelle Fuller, the CEO of a pharmaceutical conglomerate who is kidnapped by two conspiracy-obsessed men (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis) who are convinced that the ruthless Fuller is an alien who wants to destroy Earth. Described as “one of the best films in recent memory to capture what it feels like to be alive right now“, this sardonic satire is out of this world.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War (Prime Video, May 20)
In this feature film continuation of the TV show Jack Ryan, actor John Krasinski is again a long way from The Office as Tom Clancy’s titular CIA analyst. Forced back into the cut-throat world of espionage to confront a rogue and brutal black-ops unit, Ryan must reunite with his battle-hardened CIA colleagues to navigate a treacherous web of betrayal and conspiracy. Reminiscent of gritty 1970s spy thrillers like The Parallax View and Three Days of the Condor, you’ll love Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War, even if you haven’t seen the TV show.
Almost Famous (Neon, May 23)
Taking home the award for best original screenplay at the 2000 Oscars, Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous tells the story of William Miller (Patrick Fugit), a precocious 15-year-old aspiring journalist who is assigned to write a profile of rising rock band Stillwater for Rolling Stone magazine during the 1970s. This cult-classic coming-of-age tale “about an idealistic kid who sees the real world, witnesses its cruelties and heartbreaks, and yet finds much room for hope“ has aged like fine wine. Also starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand and Philip Seymour Hoffman, Almost Famous is as funny as it is bittersweet.
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (Apple TV, May 20)
Starring Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany, this dark comedy series follows Paula, a recent divorcée and soccer mum entangled with a charming camboy named Trevor (Brandon Flynn) who attempts to extort her by staging his own kidnapping. Things get even worse for the chaotic Paula when Trevor is murdered in the midst of the scam, plunging her into a dangerous rabbit hole of blackmail and death. Akin to Deadloch and Bad Sisters, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is a sure-fire good time.
Pick of the Flicks: Sleeping Dogs (NZ On Screen, May 18)
Owing to its “sharp, suspenseful direction“ and a star-making turn from actor Sam Neill, Roger Donaldson’s Sleeping Dogs heralded a new wave of New Zealand cinema when it was released in 1977. It’s considered one of the best films ever made on these shores, and now is the time to rediscover this classic homegrown thriller as NZ On Screen relaunches with a brand-new website and on-demand platform. Jam-packed with more than four decades of local filmmaking and featuring everything from Smash Palace to Scarfies to Sione’s Wedding, there’s something for everyone on the home of New Zealand screen.
The rest
Netflix
Wanda Sykes: Legacy (May 19)
Untold UK: Liverpool’s Miracle of Istanbul (May 19)
Carizzma (May 20)
The Boroughs (May 21)
James. (May 21)
Bugonia (May 21)
Mating Season (May 22)
Ladies First (May 22)
Mickey 17 (May 23)
TVNZ+
Under Salt Marsh (May 18)
The Secret Genius of Modern Life S3 (May 18)
Clarkson’s Farm (May 20)
Death Comes to Pemberley (May 21)
Edge of Tomorrow (May 21)
Get Smart (May 21)
Meet the Fockers (May 21)
Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl (May 22)
SkyMed S4 (May 22)
Flowers S1-S2 (May 22)
MĀORI+
Plastic People (May 18)
Dragon Rider (May 22)
The Eight Hundred (May 22)
Little Monsters (May 23)
Space Cowboys (May 23)
The Man in the Hat (May 24)
Neon
S.W.A.T. S1-S8 (May 19)
The Running Man (May 19)
Almost Famous (May 23)
Prime Video
Moss & Freud (May 19)
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War (May 20)
Irandu Vaanam (May 22)
Disney+
Family Guy S23 (May 20)
Betrayal: Secrets and Lies (May 20)
Ndrangheta: World Wide Mafia (May 20)
Apple TV
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (May 20)
DocPlay
Spice Girls: How Girl Power Changed the World (May 18)
Freddie: The Final Act (May 18)
Hayu
Hacks S4-S5 (May 12)
Prisoner Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy (May 12)
Suits LA (May 12)
Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce (May 12)
Based on a True Story (May 12)
Jackal (May 12)
Lockerbie (May 12)
Parks and Recreation (May 12)
The Office (May 12)
Brooklyn Nine Nine (May 12)
30 Rock (May 12)
Downton Abbey (May 12)
London Spy (May 12)
Prime Minister (May 12)
Bridget Jones’s Diary (May 12)
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (May 12)
Bridget Jones’s Baby (May 12)
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (May 12)
Jurassic World: Rebirth (May 12)
How to Train Your Dragon (2026)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (May 12)
The Holdovers (May 12)
Oppenheimer (May 12)
Five Nights at Freddy’s (May 12)
The Fast and the Furious (May 12)
2 Fast 2 Furious (May 12)
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (May 12)
Fast & Furious (May 12)
Fast Five (May 12)
Fast & Furious 6 (May 12)
Furious 7 (May 12)
The Fate of the Furious (May 12)
Hobbs & Shaw (May 12)
F9 (May 12)
Fast X (May 12)
Step Up (May 12)
American Pie (May 12)
American Pie 2 (May 12)
American Wedding (May 12)
American Reunion (May 12)
Bridesmaids (May 12)
Blockers (May 12)
Couples Retreat (May 12)
The Holiday (May 12)
Back to the Future (May 12)
The Breakfast Club (May 12)
ET (May 12)
In The City (May 20)
Basketball Wives S12 (May 22)
